New Toys Have Arrived……What have I done?

[Bluenose75]

Was wondering if its worth getting some of the training rods with the balls on the end or just go for it?

[honwal]

Was wondering if its worth getting some of the training rods with the balls on the end or just go for it?

another thing to bear in mind is the blade will go to one side before you take off so be ready to correct, with my hovering tonight it is so much easier to control in the air I just put blade in the air and landed four time, good luck

[tomatwalden]

Was wondering if its worth getting some of the training rods with the balls on the end or just go for it?

In short, no.

Training rods are more of a hindrance than a help ...

[myxiplx]

Was wondering if its worth getting some of the training rods with the balls on the end or just go for it?

Nah, those were for the days when you were learning on a model 3 feet long that would destroy itself if it tipped over. When your model costs £1,000 you don't want that happening as you learn the basic skills of how to fly.

The nQX is tough enough that you can learn all those skills without spending a fortune, and once you have the basics just find yourself some open space outdoors and have a go with the 200 SRX.

The 200 will be more fragile than the nQX. One of the best things you can do is to practice hitting throttle hold quickly if it looks like you're going to crash, and fly over grass if possible. If you can cut the power before you hit the ground you'll often be able to get away with no damage.

You will break the 200 a time or two, it's hard to avoid when you first learn, but repairing helicopters is a skill you need just as much as flying, and it's not going to cost you anywhere near £1,000 to fix that. Probably £10-£20 for a pretty bad crash.

[tomatwalden]

...

The nQX is tough enough that you can learn all those skills without spending a fortune, and once you have the basics just find yourself some open space outdoors and have a go with the 200 SRX.

The 200 will be more fragile than the nQX. One of the best things you can do is to practice hitting throttle hold quickly if it looks like you're going to crash, and fly over grass if possible. If you can cut the power before you hit the ground you'll often be able to get away with no damage.

...

I would say with the 200SRX, which has a "panic switch", you may be better flying a bit higher - eg. a good few metres off the ground and use the fact it has the panic switch to avoid crashes as much as possible.

Most newbies, when faced with an imminent crash "drop the throttle" (ie. the collective stick) anyway, which on the fixed-pitch 200SRX is the equivalent of hitting throttle hold anyway!

[Grumpy]

I used training gear (rods with balls) when i learned and found them useful. Not only do they protect the heli from tipping so can save your blades, but they also dampen down the responsiveness of the heli and make it a bit less twitchy. They also aid with orientation. They worked for me anyway, i found quite a noticable difference in the responsiveness of the heli when i removed them.

Each to their own of course but I have used them so this is first hand experience talking.

[Bluenose75]

ok sticks are out I will go higher! what's throttle hold? if I was going down I would pull back the power before impact to save teeth and limit damage, is that what throttle hold it?

[Peteski]

ok sticks are out I will go higher! what's throttle hold? if I was going down I would pull back the power before impact to save teeth and limit damage, is that what throttle hold it?

On your 200 SRX pulling the throttle all the way down is effectively the same as a throttle hold switch. On a CP heli it's not the same thing as the throttle (should really call it collective pitch in this case) mainly controls pitch rather than power. Throttle hold is basically a switch that cuts power to the rotors. It would be a good idea to configure a throttle hold/cut switch for your 200 SRX to get in the habit of using it instead of pulling the throttle all the way down - which would actually get you in trouble with a CP heli with a negative pitch curve.

[tomatwalden]

ok sticks are out I will go higher! what's throttle hold? if I was going down I would pull back the power before impact to save teeth and limit damage, is that what throttle hold it?

Yeah, as Pete mentions, the left stick is only throttle on a fixed pitch heli. On collective pitch, the throttle is (generally speaking) on or off, controlled by a switch (the flight mode switch, sometimes called "idle up" or "sport mode", etc.). So suddenly lowering the left stick keeps the throttle at max, and gives negative pitch. The result being a high-speed dive into the ground with the motor still at full power! Not pretty!

Thee "throttle hold" switch is just that - a switch that we all tend to reach for the moment a crash looks imminent as it cuts power to the motor - hopefully reducing the damage.